The1992–93 UEFA Champions League, originally known as the1992–93 European Cup, was the 38thEuropean Cup, the premier European clubfootball tournament, and the first season with the UEFA Champions League branding (originally adopted only in the group stage).[1]
It was the second season of the competition in which the eight second round winners would be split into two groups, with the winner of each one meeting in the final. In addition, a preliminary round was required as this was the first season after the break-up of theSoviet Union andYugoslavia, resulting in many new countries eligible to enter the champions of their own leagues into the competition.Israel and theFaroe Islands were also represented for the first time.
The tournament was won for the first time byMarseille, defeatingMilan in thefinal, becoming the first French team to win the European Cup/Champions League.
However, soon after Marseille's victory allegations ofmatch fixing were levelled at them and their presidentBernard Tapie. This involved a league game that took place 6 days before the final where Marseille, it emerged, had fixed their title-clinchingDivision 1 game againstValenciennes so they could concentrate on the final against Milan. It is believed that Tapie bribed Valenciennes to lose so that Marseille would win the French league earlier, and above all that they would not injure the Marseille players before the final against Milan. Before the1991 European Cup final againstRed Star Belgrade, Marseille had a few injured players, Tapie did not want to repeat this mistake. This resulted in Marseille being stripped of their league title by theFrench Football Federation (although not the European Cup, as the match in question was not in that competition). They were banned from defending their European title in the1993–94 season, and contesting theIntercontinental Cup andSuper Cup. During the 1995 trial over Marseille's financial accounts, it was revealed that they had an annual budget ofFr5 million (about €760,000) dedicated to the purchase of matches from 1989 to 1993. UEFA, along with the French Federation and French authorities, investigated several Marseille matches during the 1992–93 season. These investigations have not established any formal proof concerning alleged match-fixing in the Champions League. Therefore, Marseille's status as 1993 European champion was not affected.[2]
Barcelona, the defending champions, were eliminated in the second round byCSKA Moscow.
In total, 36 national champions participated in 1992–93 UEFA Champions League season. The 8 lowest-ranked champions according to the 1992 club seeding coefficients entered in the preliminary round, while the 28 best-ranked champions entered in the first round.
28 champions ranked 1–28 by seeding coefficient (including title holders)
4 winners from the qualifying round
Second round (16 teams)
16 winners from the first round
Group stage (8 teams)
8 winners from the second round
Final (2 teams)
2 group winners from the group stage
Since the title holders (Barcelona) qualified via their domestic league, the title holder spot was vacated and the following changes to the default access list were made:
The champions ranked 27th and 28th (APOEL andUnion Luxembourg) were promoted from the preliminary round to the first round.
Location of teams of the1992–93 UEFA Champions League. Purple: Eliminated in the preliminary round; Yellow: Eliminated in the first round; Orange: Eliminated in the second round; Red: Qualified for group stage.
The teams were ranked according to their 1992 UEFA seeding coefficients, which took into account performances in European competitions from 1987–88 to 1991–92. Each club and national association had a seeding coefficient calculated (total points divided by total matches), with both values added together to determine the club's final coefficient. This ranking then determined the round each team would enter.[3][4]
Qualified teams for 1992–93 UEFA Champions League (by ranking)
^abThe second leg originally finished as a 4–1 win for Leeds United (thus 4–4 on aggregate, with VfB Stuttgart winning on away goals). The match was later awarded as a 3–0 victory for Leeds due to Stuttgart's illegal use of foreign players, resulting in a 3–3 aggregate score and a play-off being ordered to determine the winner.
Location of teams of the1992–93 UEFA Champions League Brown: Group A; Red: Group B
The group stage began on 25 November 1992 and ended on 21 April 1993. The eight teams were divided into two groups of four, and the teams in each group played against each other on a home-and-away basis, meaning that each team played a total of six group matches. For each win, teams were awarded two points, with one point awarded for each draw. At the end of the group stage, the first team in each group advanced to the final.
^"2. Finals"(PDF).UEFA Champions League Statistics Handbook 2016/17. Nyon: Union of European Football Associations. 2017. p. 1. Retrieved22 April 2017.